It Takes A Villa
by Measured
Summary: Lucas gets a villa, and Barry gets weird about Lucas. Lucas/Barry.
1. It Takes A Villa

Title: It Takes A Villa

Series: Pokémon

Day/Theme: 21. locked together & pushing

Character/pairing: Barry Lucas, mentions and implications of ~mysterious yuri pairing

Rating: PG-13

Author's note: Melly wanted it, and what Melly wants, she gets! Borrows some traits from the Pokémon adventures manga, as in food, because adorables. Apparently Lucas and Maylene as foodbros is my favorite new headcanon.

Oh, and they're mid-teens here.

**.**

When Barry heard the news that Lucas had a place of his own now, he was really psyched. _Really_ psyched, even more than usual psyched. So he flew on over there as soon as he could and visited Lucas. The minute he game to the resort area he had _plans_, plans which were dashed about two seconds later when an apologetic helper receptionist person pointed out that there weren't any vacancies.

Barry had to admit, he was more than a little disappointed when he realized that the villas were all booked up and Lucas had gotten the last one. Well, Lucas _totally_ deserved it with the whole saving the world thing–_which he helped with, by the way!_–_But still_. These were really awesome villas. They could've gotten houses right next to each other. He could've had a nice bean bag chair and a lot of stocked food. Though, technically Lucas's place had a bean bag chair. And being Lucas, he always had filled up pantries and a fully stocked fridge.

So the second time he came around, Barry accidentally on-purpose mentioned the whole shebang. Matching next door villas. Pokémon battles every day. Epic journeys to be followed by epic redecorating schemes.

"You know you're welcome to visit me any time, right?" Lucas said.

Barry playfully pulled off his beret and ruffled his hair. "_Anytime_, then I'll have to come in your room in the middle of night and wake you right up!"

"Like you don't already with your texting? Lucas said dryly.

But the glinting sun off of water had already caught Barry's attention.

"Wait, there's a _pool?_"

Lucas chuckled. "You didn't see it? If it was an Arbok it would've bitten you."

"Last one there is a rotten eggggg!" Barry peeled off his shirt and threw it behind him, hitting Lucas squarely in the face. He was out of his jeans and canonballing into the water before Lucas even had the shirt off his face. Water crashed out in a huge splash, like he was Crusher Wake grade cool. Lucas was way, way too slow, and soaked to boot. Then he pulled off his shirt and revealed that he was looking pretty different than usual. Lucas had hit his growth spurt, and now was at least three inches taller than Barry. In the time since Barry last saw him, Lucas had seemingly grown more defined. His shoulders were broader, and he had muscles. Sorta muscles. Okay, more of a swimmer' build, _but still._

He was always a little better than Barry these days, but Barry was drinking lots of milk and training hard. He'd catch Lucas yet.

"Sheesh, you look like a _Machoke_! Have you been sparring with Maylene lately?" Barry said.

Barry looked a lot more like a Machop. Or, you know, a twelve year old schoolgirl.

"A little, she visits sometimes," Lucas said.

All the sudden, Barry had a mental image of Lucas and Maylene sparring. Then it turned into Lucas and Maylene getting married by the punching bag, and Maylene tossing Lucas over her shoulder, and heading off to their reception at an all-you-can-eat buffet. Also, Lucas was wearing the wedding dress for some reason.

And it was completely wrong. Lucas _wasn't_ supposed to get married to Maylene! Barry puffed his cheeks out in annoyance. This was wrong, wrong, wrong. He'd think of why later.

"Something the matter?" Lucas asked.

And then Lucas was looking at him and there was this weird sort of dizzy-nauseous-butterfly feeling. Technically this had happened before, once on the top of Mt. Coronet, when they'd fought Jupiter and Mars together, but then he'd been exhausted and pushed it aside. Then there was the time he'd had allergies over in Survival Area—though he didn't get it until days later, but it _had_ to explain it, and the bout of a cold in the Battle Tower when he was battling against Lucas. Well, it had to be a cold, anyways. What else could it be?

And there was now, where the only factor was Lucas with less clothes than usual. His heart was racing like it did when he was running, but different. Weird different. Usually, Barry loved the adrenaline rushing feeling that came with running, like he was flying at mach three. Sometimes he even provided the airplane noises as he ran. But this? This was something way different, he didn't even know what to do with _this_

"I forgot something!"

In a second, Barry was out of the pool and running. His trunks were wet and falling down, everything he owned was back there, including money, all supplies and most all of his pokémon.

"Yeah you did—You forgot your clothes!" Lucas called back after him.

But Barry kept running. When given the choice between facing the sudden weirdness and semi-nudity, he gladly chose semi-nudity.

**.**

It was sunstroke. Really, that's all it was. Sunstroke and stuff, and it made his head weird and gave him delusions. That didn't keep him from shivering semi-naked in the bushes, looking sort of like a creeper as he watched Lucas's villa. There was no sign of Maylene, no frolicking to be seen anywhere. He was doing his secret agent thing, just like he learned from Looker. He and his Munchlax were right there, watching out for his friend. Munchlax was the sole pokémon with him, as it had accidentally slipped from the holder thingie on his belt to the pocket of his trunks.

Well, his Munchlax was mostly eating all the berries in sight, not even very quitely. He, however, was being totally stealthy—

"You know I can see you there, right?" Lucas said from the door.

"I'm not Barry, I'm...Larry!"

"I can see your hair from here," Lucas said.

His Munchlax was giving him _that look_. He was about to whisper _well, you think of a better idea!_ when he remembered that was its default expression. He was on his own with this one. Barry tried to think his way out of that one. He got up to _long lost identical twin brother with amnesia!_ before he just gave up. He popped up with grass and assorted debris in his hair.

"I thought I saw some rare pokémon over here, but it was just a Psyduck," Barry said. He didn't even bother to try and explain why he was still in nothing but his boxers with poké balls on them. Or the fact that he didn't have a single poké ball with him for catching, since apparently enthusiasm alone wouldn't catch a pokémon, not even if you hugged them very enthusiastically.

"Yep, I mistake Psyducks for Regigigases all the time," Lucas said. "Now come in before you catch cold."

"It's warm up here," Barry said.

"Not so much at night," Lucas replied.

Barry weighed his options. The weirdness could come back and it continue to be weird, or he could freeze to death in a tropical paradise. Or be eaten by rabid Psyducks.

Barry picked up his pokéball and put Munchlax back in, and made a beeline for the door.

**.**

It seemed the villa changed tons every time Barry visited. Now clothed, fed and not feeling entirely weird, Barry actually stopped his hectic pace for two seconds to gaze about the villa. It was...nice. Really nice. Of course, Lucas got the extra large fridge. There was now a piano on the far corner, under a large window that overlooked the pool.

In a slight contrast to the high class painting and piano, there were two beanbags and a tv with a black Wii in front of it, controllers set aside as if he'd been pulled away right in the middle of a game.

"I used to have those in my secret base, but Geodudes kept eating my furniture, and my base caved in," Lucas said.

"Yikes," Barry said. "Almost makes me glad I only spent about ten minutes in the underground. I could never find any of those trading hikers, either."

As promised, there was a yellow beanbag and a red one. There were black letters on the yellow one. Barry came a bit closer to check it out.

"I sharpied it so no one else would sit in it," Lucas said.

Barry felt a surge of happiness at this. He flopped right onto the beanbag, only to have all that energy come crashing right down when Lucas finished the sentence.

"—I'll have to get another one for when Maylene comes to visit again. We were playing Fight Out when she was last here. She's pretty good," Lucas said.

Barry felt like rolling off of the beanbag chair and flopping right on the floor. The weird feeling had multiplied, like it'd gained experience and evolved into another stronger form of weird, with a special weird ability and four weird attacks of weirdness. Barry actually liked Maylene. He'd gotten to punch things in her gym, which was always a plus, and she seemed really nice. In fact, Barry couldn't think of anyone he really hated, except maybe creeps like Team Galactic and people who mistreated pokémon.

But suddenly, he didn't want to ever hear her name again. Well, not really never again. He just He never wanted to hear her name from _Lucas_ again. Not talking like she was his perfect eating rival. Barry was supposed to be his eating rival! They'd totally planned going through eating contests after they were pokémon masters and stuff when they were little, laying back in the grass and sleeping under the trees of Twinleaf Town.

Barry had a sudden mental image of taking the sharpie and writing _BARRY WAS HERE AND HE CALLED DIBS_ on Lucas's chest. Because, really, he called being the friend and rival of everything years ago. Maylene, nice as she was, would just have to find someone else to be rivals with.

Maybe he could challenge her to a pokémon battle for the right to Lucas's rivalry. If he won—and he would—she'd have to admit that Barry was Lucas's real rival, and that he and Lucas were going to utterly _destroy _the eating contest line, as soon as they figured out if there actually was an Elite Four of eating contests.

Then the logical side of him (which always sounded like Lucas, for some reason) pointed out that _eating contests can have teams with three or more people_. Added to that was a mental image of he, Lucas and Maylene fistbumping each other with hot dogs.

Nah, Sharpies it was.

"All right, I'll sharpie it and then everything will be fine!"

"You know I have sharpies in here, right?"

"I need a special sharpie!" Barry called back as he made his way to the door.

Hey, at least this time he had pants.

**.**

Barry flew over to Veilstone, with one thing in mind: shopping. He was going to buy the sharpie to end all sharpies and then he was going...what was he doing again? He somehow ended up buying poffins, entering three contests and winning one, then training for about a couple days on Iron Island, and then more shopping for supplies. All the while, he had this nagging feeling that he was supposed to be doing something, but completely forgetting what it was.

Barry's life was chaos and he liked it that way. He was always going off to buy MooMoo milk and accidentally taking flying lessons and leading a cave expedition on the way. He liked life to have surprises.

It was about a week later that he remembered _oh yeah, sharpie to Lucas's chest proclaiming eternal friendship and rivalry!_ Except putting it that way, it sounded kind of absurd. And out there. And _weird._ Did he mention weird? Obviously he had sunstroke or something. And really, it was all about Lucas's villa. Sure, they were friends and all, but his fridge was awesome too! Who would want to be away from a fridge that well stocked, with like, a pool and stuff? No one, that's who! It was obvious that what his heart craved from its very depths was lava cookies and chocolate pocky.

Right?

Right?

**.**

Barry took another week to let the weirdness subside before he landed back on Lucas's stoop. By then everything would be cool. Even if Lucas and Maylene got married and had hordes of adorable little children who could dropkick him in a second. They'd call him Uncle Barry and he'd be the best man at the wedding, maybe, right by the ringside. Not in that order, though.

He'd be...fine.

Really.

Suddenly his chest was tightening again. He tried to remind himself _here for the free food, man am I hungry, so hungry, arrrrgh!_

He threw the door open and charged in.

"You were gone a while," Lucas noted absently, looking up from the magazine he was reading. And it was like a waterfall rushing in his head, all these thoughts and feelings and emotions. It just spilled out.

"Maylene can't be your rival!" Barry said. "_I'm_ your rival, remember? _Me_!"

"Wait, what?" Lucas said. "What are you talking about, Barry?"

"You're always going on about 'Maylene and I sparred today' and 'Maylene and I frolicked in a field of flowers today' and 'Maylene and I got married by a punching bag and I was wearing the wedding dress and then we went off to have an all-you-can-eat buffet afterwards!'"

Lucas fell silent for a few seconds, seeming to be trying to take this all in. "Uh, nothing you said made any sense there. Maylene and I are just friends; she already has a rival."

He pulled out a scrapbook, and in there was Maylene. Barry felt an instant stab of something between hurt and anger. He and Lucas should've had the pictures taken in those silly photobooth things and made silly faces! Then he noticed that Maylene wasn't alone, and it wasn't Lucas by her side. A girl was right next to her, arm slung over her shoulder. Both of them had big grins on their faces.

A bit of squinting told him that the girl was Candice.

"See?" Lucas said. "If I tried to steal her rival away, Candice would lock me in a meat locker."

"Really?" Barry said. "I'd totally do a rescue of you with my Rapidash. We'd ride off into the sunset and everything."

Lucas chuckled. "Nah, she's too nice to do anything like that. She'd give me a talking to. You know, Maylene walks barefoot through the snow to fight against Candice as her training? I wish I had that sort of focus, but I'd just get too cold to even move."

There was a drum solo in his chest. Was that really his heart? Man, he needed to get his ticker checked. But this time he knew it wasn't a cold, or the flu, or sunstroke. Fourth, or maybe fifth time was the charm.

He was in weird with Lucas. There was no two ways about it.

"So, we're still epic ultimate rivals?" Barry said hopefully.

"Who else would be?" Lucas said. "We made a pact, got the decoder rings and everything."

And maybe this would been a long, lasting moment with shared smiles and stuff. Except that Barry's stomach chose that moment to let out a huge grumble, which ruined that moment.

"Go on, there's plenty to eat," Lucas said.

"You don't have to tell me twice," Barry said.

Barry made his way into the kitchen and opened up the fridge. The first thing that assaulted his eyes was a serious lack of pudding cups amidst the stuffed-to-the-brim fridge.

"Whaaat? Did Maylene eat my pudding?" Barry said. He shot Lucas a hurt accusatory look.

"Dawn did, actually," Lucas said.

Barry puffed out his cheeks. "I was really hungry, too."

"I bought new stuff today, though. I just hadn't had a chance to put it all in, yet."

Barry rifled through the bag. In its was a new sharpie, lots and lots of pudding cups, and post it notes.

"Post-it notes?" Barry said.

"To prevent future pudding wars," Lucas said.

"Who's starting these wars?" Barry said. "You get pretty cranky when anyone gets into your poffins and lava cookies."

"Speak for yourself, pudding warlord," Lucas said.

Barry bet down and began to scrawl out a message on one of the notes. _Touch Lucas's food and prepare to be hit with pillows_.

Lucas had bent to start one of his own. _Eating Barry's pudding will result in lectures and/or fines if he isn't distracted within five seconds of finding out_.

Barry penned another, playfully and messy this time. _Lucas was here, food isn't any longer_. he stuck that one to the fridge.

"Oh, playing hardball, are you?" Lucas said. He scribbled another. _Barry was here, then two seconds later he wasn't._

Barry started scribbling down note after note. _Barry's chair. Barry's food. Barry's side of the bed._ It was exhilarating, laying claim to this villa and all of Lucas's attention too.

_There's no one else. No one else came to claim my spot. This is mine_.

Naturally, it was only a matter of time before their post-note frenzy turned into them writing on each other. It started with a post-it note stuck on Lucas's arm—_Machamp in training_ to one stuck on Barry's pants _Wannabe Rapidash_

Barry was laughing, miming drawing kitty whiskers and a fake moustache on Lucas's face, the sharp scent of the pen putting a damper on the moment. He was miming making thick sharpie arm hair on Lucas's arm when he leaned forward just a little too much and slipped, and then there a little black line are Lucas's arm.

"You do know that this means war, don't you?" Lucas said oh so calmly.

"Bring it!" Barry said.

And there were little black marks, squiggles and lines between their own laughter and wriggling and wrestling, a line of _Lucas was here_ over Barry's arm.

There was a little scrawl of _mine_ at the back of Lucas's neck, but it was so messy that the secret was kept on Lucas's skin, refusing to wash off for days and days.

He wished the marker really was permanent, that it'd never wash off, and that the scrawl would stay there for the rest of their lives. Like a wish written on paper, a prayer breathed and tied on a tree in hopes to make it come true.


	2. The Proof Is In The Pudding

Title: The Proof Is In The Pudding

Series: Pokémon

Day/Theme: 14. and i'm afraid it's you

Character/Pairing: Barry/Lucas, Dawn(/Cynthia)

Rating: PG

Author's note: For Melly, because exams were being mean to her.

.

"I'm really jealous, that couch is _amazing_," Dawn said. She laid out on her stomach, rubbing her cheeks against the material and taking up the whole couch in the process. "We really have the same taste."

"I guess. I have to spray and wash it like crazy, though. Barry never remembers to take his shoes off," Lucas said with a shrug.

Dawn gave him a sort of _I know a secret_ smile. She did that a lot, lately. Lucas still wasn't sure what secret she knew–or thought she knew.

"Hee hee, that's so cute!"

"Not really, I have to clean it up all the time. I should've gotten a brown couch at this rate," Lucas said with a sigh.

"It's really worth it, though, isn't it?" Dawn said. She pushed herself up and off the couch, apparently not even waiting for his answer.

"I guess," Lucas said, though she seemed to be barely listening.

Dawn was never one to sit back and wait to be served; she always made herself right at home. She opened his big overstuffed fridge, blinking into the light as she did.

"Um, why are there post-it notes on everything?" She said.

"Barry hates it when people eat his stuff," Lucas shrugged.

She lifted out a little pudding cup. The post-it note on this one said _eating Barry's pudding will result in lectures and/or fines if he isn't distracted within five seconds of finding out_.

She was getting that smile again. She leaned up on tiptoe to check the very well stocked cupboards, peering over the various post-it notes. There was the one Barry had written: _touch Lucas's food and prepare to be hit with pillows_. Lucas couldn't help but smile at the memory, Barry had gotten sharpie all over himself after they'd each gone for the marker and ended up scribbled on, and it took ages to clean off. Barry had _Lucas was here_ on his left arm for quite a while, which had Palmer giving him some strange looks.

"You know, being with that special someone in a place like the villa is nice dream to have," Dawn said.

"If this is about Maylene and I, then you're mistaken, we're just friends," Lucas said. He was going to nip that in the bud. The memory of how spastic and strange Barry had gotten was still quite vivid.

"Oho, I wasn't talking about Maylene," Dawn said. She held up the little pudding cup. "The proof is right here."

"Proof?" Lucas said. "What does pudding have to do about it?"

"Honestly, you're horribly clueless sometimes," Dawn said. She tossed the pudding cup his way with a mutter of _boys_.

Lucas was left staring at the cup.

"Professor Rowan needed me to run an errand, so I'll be off. See you later, Lucas!"

"See you," he murmured, still staring at the cup like it would impart some divine wisdom. However, it was just a vanilla flavored pudding cup, and apparently not the type of imparting the meaning of teenaged girls and all their mysteries. The post-it note had fallen to the floor, and he bent down to retrieve it. Just as he was about to stick it back on, he noticed something else written on the back.

_You're in love with him, idiot_. in Dawn's familiar hand. When had she written it? Lucas could swear that Dawn could be as bad as a ninja kid armed with nothing but Zubats when it came to these things.

Lucas just blinked at the note for a while. Suddenly her I know your secret smile made a lot of sense. Dawn could be romantic and a little whimsical, so it maybe it wasn't a surprise that she thought he and Barry were–well, yeah.

_P.S. Don't even give me that. There's a side on the bed which says Barry's side. You might as well put a note on your chest and go "Barry's"._

Lucas was about to say something—a retort, a come back of sorts––and then he looked around to what his Villa had become. Barry's extra toothbrush was in the bathroom, and an extra towel out for when he came to stay. There were notes everywhere proclaiming Barry's ownership of food, chairs, and yes, even a side of the bed.

"Well," Lucas said.

It was an odd sort of feeling, like remembering something that had been bothering him for a long time, a word just on the tip of his tongue. There was a deafening calm within him, despite all the things he could be feeling. It was a realization, and a long breath and Lucas was sitting down with the pudding cup in his lap. He turned the cup to its side. Vanilla wasn't Barry's favorite, he was more an in-your-face rocking cherry kind, but vanilla made Barry nostalgic for the times when his dad would bring home vanilla pudding cups, so Lucas always bought a bit of both.

Maybe the proof was there all along.

Lucas flipped over the note and saw one last scrawl.

_P.P.S.: Battle me, sometime! I caught some new pokémon, and I've got someone who said she'd just love to battle you both_.

Lucas smiled. No, he wasn't surprised, nor repulsed by the idea. It was more the fact that Barry was always so close to him that he couldn't see the sheer depth of them, forest for the trees and all that. He traced his finger over the note, feeling a slight tremor in his heartbeat. A pulse, a quickening–

The memories of before, with Barry freaking out, his anguished declaration of...rivalry, a thousand subtle (and not so subtle) touches, suddenly it all seemed to clear.

.

Two days later, Barry showed up on his doorstep with leaves in his hair and a torn left knee. It was clumsily bandaged, and before even a greeting was exchanged, Lucas was pulling out the first aid kid he'd learned long ago to carry with him at all times.

He guided Barry to the couch, thinking _and there's more spray and wash I'll need_ and bent down to take a look at Barry's knee. The bandage had already bleed through, and was haphazardly applied, and just barely sticking on.

"It's just a flesh wound," Barry said. "I can barely—OW _that stings_."

"That's what you get for not taking proper care of your wounds," Lucas said.

"I did, I really—crap that stings!"

Lucas peeled the rest of the bandages off in one stroke and Barry let out a shriek. Lucas bit his lower lip and began to rub peroxide over the cuts.

"You've gotta be more careful," he said, his voice going husky for a moment. He cleared his throat. "I mean, it could get infected—"

"Nah, I just got this today. I was running and then there was this big rock right in the path. I swear, I didn't see it at all," Barry said.

"Maybe it was a Geodude," Lucas said.

Barry shrugged, could be. He looked around, and Lucas could see the signs. He was about to kick up his heels, go do something else, switch the conversation. Lucas cleared his throat again.

"Hey, Barry," he began.

"Hmm?" Barry's attention was suddenly focused on him.

"So, I was talking with Dawn the other day, and she said something interested. She's ah, convinced we're a thing. She says we're in love, but too stupid to realize it. There's a note if you want to see."

He put the pudding cup in Barry's lap. Barry became utterly still, like he was molded in stone. Lucas had never seen Barry freeze like that. Even when he was sitting, he'd jiggle a leg, tab his foot, his fingers along the armrest. Barry was never completely still, even in his sleep. But he was now.

Some thoughts to how this might go included Barry laughing it off and saying _good one, that's hilarious, now let's go visit Cynthia's villa–I hear she bought a new bikini!_ or a thousand other possibilities, but not this.

Barry's eyes were wide, and Lucas waited for the denial, the sputtering, or the point where Barry

Barry blushed. Beet red, down to the roots of his hair. He roughly rubbed at his cheeks, as if he could rub away the red.

"It's, it's—_I'm fining you a million yen for making me like this!"_

"Like what?" Lucas said.

"Like, well, you know!" Barry puffed out his red cheeks.

"I don't mind, you know. I mean...no, that's not what I mean. What I meant to say is that I do too. And. Um."

Lucas reached out to rest his hand on Barry's unhurt knee. He was used to playfully punching Barry and being punched, to nooging and wrestling, and patting him on the back or hugging him. But those were all friendship things, and he didn't know anything about love, or at least he didn't know anything about love that wasn't loving Barry in a thousand ways he never realized.

Lucas found he was blushing as well. Barry slowly put his own hand over Lucas's, drawing back once as if he'd touched a hot stove, instead of just the back of Lucas's hand.

"When I said I didn't want anyone else to be your rival, I meant I didn't want anyone to be like this. I didn't want you paying all your attention to them, going off and being married by punching bags and wearing the wedding dress—I wanted you all to myself!"

"Hey...don't worry. I mean, nobody's ever going to come close to replacing you, so—"

He was cut off as Barry was pushing him onto the floor, into something which was like a tacklehugkiss. This would be the moment to wax poetic about cinema kisses and how this was amazing, but honestly? Barry nearly broke his nose and knocked the wind out of him.

"Shuz, you all right, Lucas?"

"Just–Just give me a minute to catch my breath—"

"I'm that good of a kisser, huh? I always knew I'd be awesome on the first try," Barry said.

"You nearly broke my nose, and my ribs!"

Barry drooped a little at that. "Well, Crusher Wake would approve. Maybe I should've added an armbar in there, and—"

Lucas reached up and cupped Barry's chin, and he turned quiet right away. Well, mostly quiet, other than the moaning sounds, because of course Barry couldn't be entirely quiet. The second kiss was soft and warm, if not clumsy and halting, and with the large bonus of not having the wind knocked out of him. Really, it was such an effective way of keeping him from talking and in one place. Lucas thought he'd have to use this new secret weapon whenever possible.

When they broke apart, with lips wetter and more swollen than before, they just sort of awkwardly looked at each other. Nothing had changed. Everything had changed.

"So, uh, you wanna have lunch?" Barry said. "I'm really starved."

Lucas grinned. "Sure, that sounds great."

And when he slung his arm about Barry's shoulder, just as they had when they were kids, in the days before this, there was only a slight edge of newness to an old comfort.


	3. A Way In

Title: A Way In  
Series: Pokémon  
Character/pairing: Barry/Lucas  
Rating: PG  
Author's note:

**.**

Every day that Barry wasn't hanging out at his villa, eating everything in his fridge and using up all the hot water, he was in front of the members only club. Lucas presumed that he trained at least some of the time, though apparently he did that when Lucas was on lunch break, post-lunch snack break, almost-dinner snack break, and dinner break.

They hadn't really gotten into the habit of training together, because there was this issue with Barry always running off, and Lucas doubling back, but Lucas wasn't really worried. It wasn't like they had to be attached at the hip. Besides, they were still sort of figuring out this thing. How exactly did two guys date? Were they supposed to arm wrestle with affection? Hold hands? He wasn't big on flowers, though he wouldn't turn down poffins and chocolate.

Today wasn't any different, really, except that Barry looked kind of frazzled and distant. He was sitting down, leaned against the wall this time, as his foot tapped a discordant beat on the ground.

"What's up?" Lucas said.

"I went to visit daddy, but he was busy and I couldn't get through," Barry said. His expression faltered just a little bit for a moment. Lucas reached down to pat him on the shoulder.

"I'm sure he'll be free later," Lucas said, even though he wasn't. Barry brightened up right away.

"Yeah, I'm sure he will be," Barry said.

"So, what are you up to?" Lucas said.

"Master Wake is definitely going to come around one of these days, and if I stay around here I won't miss him and he's bound to let his favorite apprentice in!"

Lucas couldn't help but frown a bit at this. It was always Crasher Wake this and Crasher Wake that. Crasher Wake is so amazing, I bet he lifts boulders in his spare time, Crasher Wake talked to me, it was great. It was like hearing Dawn talk about Cynthia, except that he wasn't dating Dawn.

"Forget about him," Lucas said, a little harsher than he meant to. "I'll get you in."

He took Barry by the wrist and walked towards the door. He pushed in, no trouble. Maylene and Candice were inside, giggling together over a cup of tea.

Before Buck's grandfather could say anything, Lucas spoke above him.

"He's with me," Lucas said.

Barry was a mess of hopeful barely contained energy. He jerked his head from side to side, drawing in every detail of the place around him. For a few tense seconds, Lucas wondered if they'd both get booted. But Buck's grandfather just smiled.

"Do you want your regular?" Buck's grandfather said.

"Sure, thank you," Lucas said.

The old man nodded "And him?"

Lucas looked to Barry, but Barry was obviously in Ooh Shiny mode, and not paying attention to a damn thing. It was no use trying to get him to stay still long enough to do something as complicated as ordering. It might take a whole minute, and that was way too much time for Barry to be paying attention.

"He'll, uh, have the same as me," Lucas said.

Buck's grandfather shuffled to the assorted cabinets and fridge back there. Pretty soon, there were two pink lemonades chilled just right. Lucas took them both, and nudged Barry off before he started floating from sheer amount of happiness he seemed to be exuding from every pore.

Candice noticed him then, probably because Barry's barely contained squawk of surprise that he was _actually in_. Whenever she and Maylene got to talking, it'd take practically an earthquake to draw them out of whatever happy world they were in. Or Barry, it seemed. She waved.

"Up for a battle? You can bring your friend, too! We'll double battle!"

Maylene smiled shyly.

"Can you take a rain check? We're only going to be here for a little while," Lucas said.

"Sure, anytime!" Candice said.

"We're leaving?" Barry said, looking just a bit disappointed.

"Yep, we're going to see your dad," Lucas said.

Barry's face lit up, and it was so worth whatever trouble it would take to make him that happy. Maybe 'he's with me' wouldn't work there, but Lucas was feeling confident. He could say that Cynthia sent him. She'd surely understand.


	4. Telling It

Title: Telling It  
Series: Pokémon  
Character/pairing: Barry/Lucas, mentions of Dawn/Cynthia, Palmer  
Rating: PG-13  
Word count: 737  
Author's note: fic_promptly: Author's choice, author's choice, at short notice. Still Melly's.

**.**

The thing was, unlike just bursting into a trainer café, boyfriend in tow, the battle tower didn't work like that. Funny enough, for how prone to bursting into places and forgetting to knock, Barry treated the tower–and everything associated with his father–like something sacred. So they hung out in the waiting room, with Barry fidgeting every two seconds, while Lucas read an outdated copy of _Trainer's Digest_.

After what seemed like hours, the secretary ushered them past the glass doors and in to Palmer's sleek and modern office. Palmer looked up from his papers, looking sleepy and vaguely lost.

"I know this is pretty short notice," Lucas began.

"Is something wrong?" Palmer interrupted.

Lucas never had to wonder where Barry got it from.

"No, we just wanted to visi—"

"Actually there is," Barry cut in.

Lucas looked to him, curious to where this was going.

"Daddy? I wanted to tell you something," Barry said. He took in a deep breath that made his chest look puffed up, like a Honchkrow.

"Yes?" Palmer said. He was leaning away from the piles of various papers on his desk, which were so high they nearly obscured him from view. Lucas had an idea he knew where Barry got his organization skills.

"LucasandIaretogeher!"

"Whoa, whoa, slow down. Now repeat it more slowly," Palmer said.

"Lucas. And. I. Are. Together," Barry said, each word coming out like a separate sentence. Barry looked more vulnerable than Lucas had ever seen him. Like a single frown or look of revulsion could send him toppling over into some dark place he'd never fully recover from. His fists were balled up tight, and he looked about ready to start hyperventilating. Lucas put his hand on Barry's shoulder, a comforting gesture.

"So I hear," Palmer said. He smiled. "Truth be told, I rather expected it."

"S-so you don't mind?!" Barry said. "I mean, we can't have kids and continue the family line, but I bet Cynthia and Dawn would surrogate for us, then we can live all together and raise amazing trainer babies—"

"Whoa, whoa, you're together with...Cynthia and Dawn too?" Palmer said. "It'll take some time to process these...newfangled relationships, but–"

"No, no," Lucas cut in. "They're together, and we're together, but we're not all together. I mean, we haven't even _talked_ about kids, but, uh. I guess we could—"

Leave it to Barry to jump straight into the uncomfortable territory. Lucas cleared his throat. They hadn't even done some of the more...intimate couple things, and Barry was already talking about their future children.

"That's a little early, don't you think? I'm too young to be a grandfather!" Palmer said. He chuckled. "But whatever makes you happy, makes me happy."

"_Daddy!_" Barry launched himself into Palmer's arms, dragging Lucas along with him. Lucas had come to realize that when it came to Palmer, Barry would always be a five year old at heart. It was a warm triple hug which had him smushed between both Barry and Lucas.

"Now I have two sons," Palmer said, his eyes crinkling as he smiled.

Lucas had stayed fairly calm all through this whole conversation, but that made him pull his beret down to hide his face. He hadn't exactly had the greatest father figure in his life.

Palmer patted Lucas softly on the shoulder. "You take good care of him, you hear? He's special."

Lucas cleared his throat. "I'll do my best."

"I'll cancel my next meeting, I think I'm busy with hugs," Palmer said dryly.

"Oh no, it's okay," Lucas said.

"No, it's all right...I should spend more time with my sons, it seems I'm always married to my job and I've already missed so much of your lives."

Just that plural mention made him feel warm inside. And when he looked at Barry, he saw the same expression reflected. Happiness, acceptance, joy, love.

And knowing that Palmer had their back, suddenly it felt like they could take on whatever the world throw at them.


End file.
